The M a s s e s :: Coloration v3
by Etsuuko
Summary: The story of the 3 bumpkins continues in the third installment of "The Masses". Pride is defended. Feelings clash. Hidden rivalries make themselves clear. A lot is in store for the masses, as they adjust to life in Tokyo. Better summary inside. R&R.
1. Summarizing Spill & Disclaimers

_**Summary**__**:**_ Three Osakan Storm Riders are about to get a big surprise when they discover that they are the 3 Masses; the only three people chosen to wear the 3 silent regalia, the regalia that kill anyone who dares put them on and not be their masters. With such power comes such pain, but who knew the hearts of a few teenagers could get torn in so many different ways? Read now, about how the world of ATs not only changes the life of 3 country idiots, but how it alters the lives of everyone who dares to call them self a Storm Rider.

Canons? Check. Non-Mary/Gary-sue OC's? Check. Unexpected twists and drops? This is one hell of a roller coaster for those who seek to play with their emotions.

_**Warnings:**_ Characters will die. Characters will break up one another after getting together (no couple is guaranteed permanent)

If you're into that predictable shit, get the hell outta here!

**LINK TO BOOK TWO IS ON MY PROFILE PAGE!! PLEASE READ BOOK TWO FIRST. DUH.**

--

_**In the last installment: SPOILERS FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN'T READ BOOK TWO**_

_Spitfire was waiting for Agito to show up for his match, but instead was greeted by Naodan who revealed a shocking secret: the fact that she had loved him behind Sakanako's back. Spitfire insisted that they do nothing, but this caused Naodan to persist. The situation suddenly became very complicated when Spitfire recalled Sakanako and Agito, and he fullified the girl's request by kissing her. _

_Unfortunately for Spitfire, Agito had made it there in time to witness this action, and he immediately (after making a short declare) began to flee to go notify Sakanako._

_Spitfire then basically ditched Naodan and tried to stop Agito. Tempers flared, and a short, spur-of-the-moment fist fight was triggered. Spitfire stops and leaves._

_At this time, Ikki and the others were at a coliseum, watching a live match between PEACE.NOW members Cadensu and Kisuko. This battle was chained with a series of personal events between the two combatants, and in the end, Kisuko loses and unintentionally gets her regalia stuck in her leg, leaving her own crutches temporarily. This match greatly catches Izumi's interest, particularly Cadensu, who he finds attractive. _

_When the group returns home, Agito is there to greet Sakanako with his newly obtained information. Aft first, Sakanako didn't believe him, but after a moment of dead seriousness, she considered the news and told Agito that she would ask Spitfire about it._

_Later, Spitfire calls out Sakanako and breaks up with her. He told her that his reasonings were because he was in love with Naodan, which is a lie, because he __**really**__ broke up with her because he could see that she loved Agito, and not him._

_After an angry comeback from Sakanako, he returns the crown necklace to her and tells her that she has another king waiting for her._

_The next day, Sakanako is silent all day at school and disowns Naodan as a friend. During lunch, Izumi catches sight of Kisuko skipping school and decides to follow her, but fools the circle of friends into believing that he was following Sakanako, who, at that time, was heading down the stiars._

_He mentioned something about Agito being worried about her before he skated off and went to chat with Kisuko._

_Sakanako brought herself to invite Agito to hang out after school, and when she left, Kogarasumaru had gotten really excited._

_Sakanako and Agito hung out at the park, eating crepes happy happy until somehow, the topic of Spitfire was brought up and Sakanako completely broke down crying out of the emotional intensity. This angered Agito, which him to realize that he did have feelings towards Sakanako, He forced himself onto her and basically sexually assaulted her until she figured out that this was his odd way of confessing his love to her. :)_

_So they got together._

_Then, The Masses received a challenge from the Rozz-Empire, a D-calass team of Storm Riders. The Masses recruit Mitsuru and Spitfire to help them fight this team._

_Izumi got to meet Cadensu…_

_Agito and Sakanako had an interesting reunion with Spitfire at the movies…_

_**AND THEN IT WAS THE DAY OF THE MATCH!**_

--

This fanfiction was originally written BY HAND by Jessica Skidmore (me) and Brittany Blackburn in the form of a roleplay. All made up characters were created either by Brittany or myself giving no one any right to steal them. You have been warned.

Air Gear is copyright to Oh!Great, as well as all of its original characters.  
This fanfiction does not reflect the opinion of Oh!Great or any other company associated with the original Air Gear.

Some parts of the online version may differ from the original handwritten version due to gramatical errors and mistakes that I have either corrected or changed.

This fanfiction has been rated T for profanity (Agito), sexual content, nudity, violence, occasional disturbing imagery, gang related activities, drugs & alchohol, and other suggestive themes. There might be times when I put a "" by a chapter, meaning that chapter is rated MATURE. Those chapters are a little graphic.

I hope you guys enjoy this fanfiction; it already has a lot of fans locally, so I figured that I'd post it online. Yes, there are made up characters throughout it, but don't worry:** I've made sure that they are all unique and interesting, and fun to read. They are all relatable, and shouldn't piss you off. **Ofcourse, there will always be that character you don't like, according to your taste in characters, but I've made sure that even they have their own strong points and flaws.  
Like the anime/manga, the pairings will remain a mystery until the end. You'll just have to cheer for whoever you want to go with who. It's possible to be an OCxCanon, OCxOC, CanonXCanon, Yaoi, Yuri... just about anything could happen.

Well anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it-- Now I present to you, "The M a s s e s : Coloration (v3)"!! (Currently, the hand written roleplay is approximately 3 ¼ one subject notebooks long, so you can expect about that much to read.)


	2. The Joker's Trick

Alright. This is the first real chapter of book 3! I love this book. Absolutely love it! It's got a nice mixture of action (the beginning, mainly) and then towards the end, lots of rivalries and internal conflict builds. I personally prefer the end of the book, but there are people who may enjoy the beginning. Thanks for reading this far, and here comes the chapter!

Read and review! xxx

* * *

"What the hell ever! No!" Sakanako snarled at her opponent. It was a male dressed in skin tight leather; he wore blazer shades and shaggy red hair that Sakanako would've normally considered sexy. But she wasn't going to call an enemy good looking, no way in hell.

"Come on. Pull out those regalia. I wanna see 'em babe." he cooed, smoothly.

Her visible eye was twitching, "You're scary. Don't talk to me. Our match started a long time ago, and all you've been doing is standing there, stalling. Do you even know how to skate?!" she was slowly beginning to feel light headed, as she yelled this, but she doubted that had anything to do with the guy she was fighting, seeing as to the fact that he was just standing there.

"Ofcourse I can, babe. Hurry up and take off those clothes. I mean business."  
"What the fuck is wrong with you? Ew!"  
"It was only a metaphor, babe, don't get so wet."

Sakanako was becoming irritated with this male's presence and she skated forth.

**But the room was completely still.**

Even though she could feel the straining and rolling of her AT's, her surroundings were frozen.

She felt something smack her in the face and she yelped. But the boy was still standing in the corner of the room, the way he had been before she had tried to skate towards him.

"How'd the hell you do that?!"  
"That's a secret, babe."

* * *

"**IT LOOKS LIKE THE JOKER'S GOT SOME TRICKS UP HIS SLEEVE! I'D HATE TO BE IN THE FISHGIRL'S SHOES! LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, THE JOKER'S TRICK FREEZES YOUR SENSE OF EYESIGHT! EVEN THOUGH SHE CAN FEEL HER BODY MOVING, SHE CAN'T SEE IT, SO SHE PROBABLY WON'T BELIEVE IT!"**

Mikan watched and arched a brow, "That makes sense. So that's why she's just standing there and getting hit; cuz she thinks everything's frozen. That's a bit confusing… even if she realizes that it's a psychological thing, she probably wouldn't be able to fight a D-rank Storm Rider blinded like she is."

Ikki leaned towards the laptop a bit, "Kazu was in a situation sort of like this, I think. With Aeon Clock?"

Mikan chuckled, "It's funny, cause this guy's probably got the concept of time freeze better than the Clock does," she looked to Agito, "What's it like to see your girlfriend standing there like a dumbass?"

"I doubt that D-class shit could beat the Aeon Clock when that faggot is damn near a king," Agito muttered, ignoring Mikan's question as he stared in disgust at the screen.  
His opinion was scrawled across his expression very obviously:  
His brows creased over in an appalled manner that was somewhat angered, and his scowl was expanded across the jaw line to form an exaggerant pout that formed in correspondence to the fish's incompetence. All of his features emitted some sort of dissatisfaction and, of these, all were contorted with adolescence.

"**AND THE FISH TAKES ANOTHER HIT! WILL SHE FIGURE OUT HIS TRAP?! THIS IS A REALLY ONE SIDED MATCH, MAN! SHE'S FIGHTING BLINDFOLDED, OR STANDING BLINDFOLDED, THAT IS!"**

Ikki grunted. Though Sakanako was a semi-rival of his, he didn't want her to lose,

"Damn, Sakanako. Do something."

* * *

'_Okay, okay. Sakanako… chill out. We have to figure out what's going on. There's no way he could do that without moving…' _She was struck again, and she felt her body fumble to the side, though her surroundings and what _looked_ like her body were frozen stiff.

'_This means… it's an illusion. I think he… it's something in the room or him that is making it seem like I'm not moving…'_ she attempted to skate forward. She felt her wheels rolling beneath her, and a slight air brushing against her body. She could hear herself moving.

"I figured you out." Sakanako stated, as she felt a smirk on her lips. She heard her opponent skating towards her, and she held her defenses and blocked his attack.  
She heard him sneer, amused.

"Just because you know the trick, doesn't mean you can fight against it, babe."  
"But that's a lie. I've got you now. This match is gay."

* * *

"**THE TIDAL REGALIA! AND IT LOOKS LIKE SHE KNOWS HOW TO USE IT TOO! LET'S LISTEN IN AND SEE WHAT'S COOKIN' IN THERE!:  
Sakanako: "You see, I don't need to know where you are to beat you… just the fact that you're in this cell and that I'm not frozen. I'll be taking the match now."  
****Joker: "What the hell are you talking about?!"  
Sakanako: "…That's a secret, **_**babe**_**.""**

* * *

Then, the floor rattled viciously, and articles of furniture in the convict cell came crashing to the floor.  
An earthquake.

The boy in the shades struggled to keep his balance, "What the hell are you?!"  
His only response was a large wave in the floor that knocked him over with ease, and then completely severed a yellow toilet on the wall.

The contaminated water sprayed upwards, fertilizing the cell like rain.

"I give up!" the male shouted, at the top of his lungs, and over the spraying of the toilet water.

Sakanako grinned, her hair dripping droplets of filth, "That's perfect."


	3. Hell's Song

"**THERE'S ONE WIN FOR THE MASSES! LET'S MOVE ONTO ANOTHER CELL, SEE WHAT EXACTLY IS GOIN' ON WITH IZUMI, ALSO KNOWN AS THE ROCKET DOG!!"**

Ikki was grinning due to Sakanako's sudden turn of tables and he glanced to Mikan excitedly, "Did you see that?! One day, I'm gonna be wearing a pair of badass regalia 10 times stronger than that!"

Mikan's turquoise eyes rolled before they watched Izumi on the computer screen, interestedly, "Two more wins. I think the masses have got this one." She finished off her ramen and then stood up to leave and get more, "Tell me what happens."

Inside Agito's body was Akito, who was bubbling with happiness, '_I'm so happy! She controlled her regalia so well! She did great. Wow…I'm so happy for her! …Agito?' _he ranted, within the depths of the boy's mind.

* * *

Izumi's opponent was in the corner of the room, curled up in a ball. Her face wasn't visible, but thick, dark strings of hair were.

"…_Oh how I love thee…I will lay you over torn feathers and indulge you in sin…blood so crimson that it kills angels upon sight… your blood paints you like a work of art…beautiful…how beautiful…" _  
The girl was singing quietly, in a whisper. Her arms hugged her knees tighter and her hair fell greasily to her hips.

"…_thin red crevices…works of the devil…"_

Her opponent's expression was baffled, and his stance was stiff.  
Typically, he would have tried flattering his female opponent, but she was a bit too scary, and he wasn't, in the least, attracted to her.

The wheels of his skates began to teeter forwards, in a casual manner, and he cleared his throat.

"Well, if you're done , then…" Izumi's voice broke the eerie whispers and converted what silence accompanied the hymn. The wheels that once strolled stopped in their place, and he angled his foor in such a manner that the brake was triggered.

A quiet purr replaced the girl's singing as the "braked" skate accelerated the speed of the single wheel in the back, "Ready?"

'…_ready to shred your wings…to pull them down with me… embrace your demon and howl in agony… this is what true life is… not the serenity you lie to yourself about…'_ The voice continued, despite Izumi's pathetic attempt to stop it. Then, the girl's head crunched when she looked him in the eyes with her own piercing optics, the color of an iris.

There was a high, nauseating ringing in the ear before the girl's image spiraled around Izumi, at the speed of light.  
There were now 7 girls standing around him, in a circle. Their hair hung, veiling their faces.  
They were all singing,

"…_soar to hell…speed of sound… I am not alone… she's me too in another light… we're a lie, the way your memory rests with me. We will never fade against your betrayal…feeling your heart race mine to death,"  
_After this verse, they all giggled, all un different pitches, but there was one that was a bit louder than the rest,

"_Which lie is truth is for you to decide…"_

More laughing.

"…" Izumi tilted his head; his eyes were wide and his mouth hung agape as he gazed upon the girls, "Wh…" his voice came out in a choked mumble and failed to carry the remainder of his words.  
"Can you stop singing that annoying song?? Ugh. Uhm… I don't…" he looked around hurriedly, "I don't know which one to hit…" he growled, growing frustrated with his own confusion.

'_Alright…eenie, meenie, minie, moe…' _He finally deducted this was the only efficient way of doing it, and deciding which for to hit, first.

There was a gleam beneath his regalia and a beam split when he grinded the wheel against what lie beneath, the purr of friction still whistling all the while. The light corresponded to the motion of his foot and frayed out around him, striking four of the girls and random.

"Ha." the country boy said smugly, awaiting the real girl to fall. Behind him was a crisp scorch scarring the wall's surface, where a stray beam had unintentionally and clumsily hit.

These beams flew straight through the four frames that he had decided to hit.  
There was another ripple of laughter before the bodies spiraled and there were 14 girls around him.

"…_this is no game to test your luck…can't you see that your ignorance hurts this heart of mine, the color black like a night of frightened tremors…?"_

The laughs were growing louder and the laugh that had once obviously stuck out faded to the slightest degree. The girl's swung their heads a bit, causing a slight chance to catch a glimpse of eye color. Each girl's eyes were a different tint of purple, but only varying keenly.

* * *

"**WHOA! FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY CAREER, I WAS PROBIDED WITH MESSED UP DATA! FOLKS, I HATE TO SAY THAT I'M JUST AS CONFUSED AS YOU ARE! IZUMAY'S SUPPOSED TO BEFIGHTING SHOUHEI, THE CRUMBLER, BUT APPARENTLY ROZZ-EMPIRE CHOSE THIS CHICK TO FIGHT INSTEAD! I DON'T EVEN; NO… WAIT… YEAH, NEVERMIND! LET'S JUST SHUT UP AND WATCH THE MATCH!"**

Mikan came in the room and sat back down.  
She watched the screen, confused, and waited for Agito to explain.  
Agito caught Mikan's expectant eyes and was, at first, defiant and too stubborn to answer the question . Then, he felt like being reasonable if he got the chance to insult Izumi, "The bitch is multiplying herself, and the idiot's shooting off fireworks like a dumbass," he stated, very matter-of-factly.  
A sigh emitted from the petite Fang King and he grumbled irritantly.

* * *

"How…? And I was just seeing if I could do it, is all. You'll be amazed at my next trick," the rocket dog assured his creepy opponent.  
From his pocket, he pulled something that looked like a deck of cards, but what replaced the usual paperthin components of a card deck were thicker by the slightest fraction and separated by minute sheets of wax-paper.

'_I learned this trick practicing yesterday…'_ His chocolate eyes scanned the room, '_I think I know where to put them…'_

He closed his eyes, wished himself good luck, and released the brake on his skate.  
The tension in his skate sent him accelerating forwards at a rapid pace. His movements were somewhat sluggish and deliberate, and would be noticed by the trained eye, if here were going slower.

From the perspective of the girls, he simply appeared a blur of some sort that was rebounding off of the walls; if he were any good at using his regalia, he wouldn't be seen, or heard by the ear without technical aid, but the regalia were so fast he could barely control them _**now**_, and had to slow their pace down 10 fold to steer.

After a quick moment, he stopped affront the place where he originally stood with a scowl. He didn't dare glance to the small squares he had placed on the walls; no bigger than a card from a deck these tiny mirrors were.

"I'll just hit… you all at once." He muttered, and then gulped for fear that he'd placed them wrong and miss terribly.

On the original mirror, which lay in front of him on the floor, he held his brake for a moment, and then released another beam. The circumference of this ray was smaller, but according to the motion of his foot, it shot in the direction he desired.  
In a matter of nanoseconds, the cube was array with a web of light, each intricately placed to hit each and every one of the girls.

Yet, like the dumbass he was, he'd forgotten something very important.  
Although he'd aligned the mirrors correctly, and they were to hit all girls, the beams would come back to their source in a boomerang like fashion: the mirror infront of him.

This realization struck him in barely enough time for him to proceed to move… but he was, naturally, "behind the beat" and a beam similar to those, intending only to strike the girl's, impacted with his skin.

"…!" he almost yelped.  
'_Shit.'_

The rays hit all females. However, none of the 12 girls he hit were the real one. The real one appeared before him, and her hair was swept out of her face with a scrawny hand that almost looked plastic.

Then, she pounced him, pinning him to the floor. Her face held features similar to Kisuko's but she didn't give much time to observe them as she ripped out a bottle of powder and tried to pour it onto the boy's body.  
He shoved her off before she could do so and glowered at her, "What the hell do you think you're doing, ya freak? You won't hit me if you just pounce!" he snapped at her, a very light blush adorning the apple of his cheeks.

He stood.

'_I guess…I have to beat up a girl,' _he thought, regretfully, knowing that this stood against all of his morals, '_Sorry, Maw! But this is the only way I can win. Sides, __**she**__ may be watching me…'_

His foot crashed against the mirror, and because of the design his skates had, a large fragment caught in its wheel. Quickly, afraid that he wouldn't get a chance to attack her again, he slammed the wheel, blade of glass and all, onto the poor girl.

His foe was struck with the shard and she yelped, her voice much clearer than her whisper song earlier. There was a snarl and the first words that were not a verse escaped her lips, "Get the heck off of me!" she threw the bottle across the prisoner cell like a grenade before throwing a knee into his stomach.

* * *

Mikan observed quietly, "The Regalia Collector. She's the only one who can set up a hologram like that," she suspected. Ikki turned his gaze to the 20 year old and blinked his brown eyes before echoing her,  
"…The Regalia Collector…?"

Mikan's head nodded, "She steals regalia from the Tool Toul To, and also from the king's. She's powerful; she almost got away with Reminal's Scar Regalia, and he's currently the strongest rider in all of Japan."

"Has she stolen any regalia recently?" Ikki questioned the Noyamano, curiously.  
Mikan made a slight face, "She got the Rumble Regalia from Yoshitsune in Kyoto. She, apparently, used to be a tuner, so she can mix Regalia programs together to make even stronger ones. Currently, her AT's have the Rumble and the Poison installed. As for the kings who had their regalia stolen, the Tool Toul To was nice enough to give them a new set."

"Oh, I see, then."

"**WHAT'S THIS?! THE MYSTERY WOMA'S GOT A STUN GUN! OH MY WORD—THIS DOG WILL BE BAR-B-QUE SOON! THERE SHE GOES, SHE'S MAKING HER MOVE!"**

"So that's why she's fighting Izumi then. Yeah, it all makes sense," Ikki continued in a bit of awe.  
"Well, duh. But it doesn't matter if she gets her hands on 'em anyway. Only the Masses can wear the silent regalia."  
"Why?"  
"Everyone's who's claimed to be one of the 3 Masses died when they tried to activate the regalia," as Mikan explain this ever so casually. Ikki grumbled bitterly, wishing he could just slip on some regalia and be the "chosen one".

He looked at Agito, "So… anyone could use the Fang Regalia, then?"  
"Well, if you can see the Fang Regalia's road." she answered.

"Don't get any ideas, Crow. I might have to knock you off the pedestal that everyone has put you on, _**Sky King**_, " Agito threatened in reply to Ikki. He scoffed, "Not everyone can ride my road."

* * *

Izumi's fingers gripped her though as her knee impacted with his gut. He winced as a, momentarily, crippling pain, overcame him, "You're so annoying," he complained with a sigh, before his digits locked around the inside of her though and he attempted to knock her over. Another spray of light spread around him like the tentacles of a beast, clawing desperately at the regalia thief.

The Regalia Collector grunted in slight irritance before she shook her head furiously, causing the black authentic strings of human hair to fall unto Izumi's face. The wig's strands tickled his face as she put the two metal rods of the stun gun against the boy's side, "Freeze, and I'll set the power only high enough to paralyze you. If you hand over those regalia, and give up the battle, I'll let you go. If you don't, well. I'll zap you like lightning." she threatened, voice low. This was taking too long and she knew the audience was probably getting suspicious.

She had to take those regalia, and fast, too.

"I'm not giving up," he stifled a smile at the suggestion, "Put my regalia on and you'll die, girly."  
He felt the threatening presence of the stun gun at his side, and his smile was forced from his expression.

"…ugh…" he glowered at her, his chocolate eyes meeting her irises of purple contact lenses. For the first time, he noticed her similarities to Kisuko…  
Realization struck him softly, pulling the bitter anger from his glare, and, instead, placing an awkward, curious keenness on it.

His hand slowly and cautiously extended towards a delicate cheek affront him. The fingertip lightly brushed a strand of hair many shades lighter than the greasy black that almost matted his vision.

"…Blonde…?"

Curiousity immediately crushed over him in a colossal wave and he seized thin locks of the greasy black within a clenched hand. Quickly, simply to appease his curiousity before being zapped, he yanked the black, rope-like hair from the girl's scalp, eyes observing anxiously to see what rest idly beneath.

With this tug, the Regalia Collector gasped before slapping the boy and electrocuting him on low voltage. The wig tangled itself on the floor as the girl's light, sunny blonde hair was revealed. Her eyes widened and she hopped away from him, and fled the cell. The only things she left were on the floor; a mop of black hair and a broken bottle.


	4. There's No Ours

Ikki took this time to tease Agito, "All I have to do is see your road, right? No problem! I'm pretty good at finding things in abstract art, I'm sure it'll be a pea in a fucking pod!"

"Watch your mouth," Mikan growled, forebodingly. Ikki's eyes rolled before he returned his attention to Agito, "If I had your road, chicks would be all over me and I would never have to throw a fist again! I could just kick up a fang and beat the shit out of whoever I want to! You guys would lose your girlfriend, and she'd come running to me along with all my other cheap whores! It's great!" he rambled, grinning ecstatically.

Akito leered inside Agito's mentality, '_She would not! Sakanako loves us, Ikki, you just be quiet you... you jerk!' _he spouted immaturely.

"You guys? Oh yeah. That's right, Akito. Wow. Two men in one. That must be an interesting relationship," Mikan muttered, basically to herself as she watched the screen.  
Ikki listened to Mikan's mumbling and it triggered a thought, "Whoa. So like… do you and Akito have assigned times to come out? I haven't seen Akito in a while."

'_Ofcourse you haven't seen me out cuz Mr. Selfish Alter ego has been a body hog ever since we met Sakanako!' _Akito backfired, obnoxiously, and directing it towards Agito.  
"Because she's _**my**_ girlfriend, and she doesn't want to see Akito's faggot face, so I don't make her," he hissed, ignorant to Akito's feelings, '_And she doesn't love __**you**__…' _he persisted, mentally, ofcourse.

"**AND THE MYSTERIOUS GIRL HAS QUIT THE MATCH! THERE'S ANOTHER WIN FOR THE 3 MASSES! WHOOOO-WEE! I HAVEN'T ACTUALLY BEEN IN SUSPENSE FOR A WHILE, PEEPS!"**

'_Agito! Just shut it and stop concluding things! I know she loves me, too!' _he called, in Agito's mind, still too stubborn to let his other self believe that he got special treatment, '_Why are you so jealous? Why can't we just share her the way we share this body?!'_

Ikki, too, was becoming angry, "So what? You're not being very fair, Agito! Akito owns the body just as much as you do, so you should give him the same amount of time with the body or alter everyday or something!" he snapped, not knowing that Akito was also sort of crushing on Sakanako.

This little argument attracted Mikan's attention, "So wait. If Sakanako isn't in love with Akito, doesn't that mean she's in only in love with half of you? Since you and the gay boy are the same person and stuff?"

Ikki took notice to this. He nodded his head in slight agreement, "Does it not affect you at all that she isn't in love with all of you?"

DJ Plugman was hooting and hollering about Mitsuru's match.

Mikan's eyes were locked with Agito's. She was waiting for an answer.

"We're not the same fucking person and Sakanako is _**my **_fucking girlfriend!!" Agito slapped the words at all of them, viciously, "I'm sick of everyone, _**everyone**_, saying that she's _**our**_ girlfriend! There's no _**our**_! She's _**MINE**_."

He growled, emphasizing every pronoun before "mine" and "our".  
His fingers curled into his palm and into his palm and formed a small fist.  
Then, quickly, he bore his fangs at them.


	5. Field Trip

3 weeks later.

"Okay, everyone! Make sure on the bus you're super quiet and super good! We don't wanna make Tokyo look bad, you know—I mean, tee hee, our reputation's already large enough! So uh, be nice to strangers and don't sit down by someone who will get you in trouble, kay?" This was the junior counselor, Miss Ayumi, the typical frilly, slutty, ditzy teacher. She was blonde, emerald eyed and probably weighed less than Agito; that's what Sakanako estimated.

Miss Ayumi used to work at a daycare, until she was fired for having an affair with one of the kids' parental guardian. So here she was, at the high school. Fake boobed, skinny… she was an uproar among the male student body, "Alright everybody, let's all hop on the bus now so we can make it to our hotel in time—Girls on the left side, boys on the right, please!"

The mass of juniors mumbled to themselves and sauntered onto the bus flatly and deadly. The girls were discussing their seating partners while many of the males took seats randomly.

Emily was among the pondering females. She sighed, disappointed. She had returned to Japan just in time for the junior trip, and yet, she hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Kazu. She noticed some unfamiliar faces before she looked for one she recognize, "Hey, Yayoi! Sit with me, m'kay?" she requested, after brushing some of her shoulder length black hair out of her eyes with slender fingers.

Sakanako's expression hadn't changed since she had woken up that morning. She looked "as dead as a fish" as one might say. She gazed between her two options.

Competitor #1, Ringo Noyamano.  
Competitor #2, Awkward-ally-person-who-said-sorry-,-but-it's-still-very-awkward person.

She would go with number one.

"Hey, Ringo, I claim you as my bus riding person," she alerted the female, unenthusiastically.

Onigiri was blubbering to Buccha about food while Ikki conversated amongst Kazu. This left Agito and Izumi hanging, partnerless, along with Naodan.  
The tallest male of this group sighed and looked over the remaining strangers; He's sit with anyone other than the cussing nerd, who everyone loved for some crack reason.  
Without throwing a glance in Agito's direction, Izumi darted into the closet tenantless seat and sank into the sticky leather, hued and awful grey that the bus possessed along its floor and walls.

His gaze fixated upon anything that the window of the bus could offer him, thus providing the disposition of someone who didn't want the oddity, screaming profanity, as his partner.

All the while, Agito was considering his seating arrangement he could sit with the male nerd, but something about that nasally voice infuriated him, and that option was removed from Agito's list, immediately. The other random idiots who offered their seats would speak. That's not what we wanted.

So, with a gallant stroll, he plopped himself next to Izumi.  
Tension struck like a heavy amnesia, and silenced both boys.

Yayoi, meanwhile, slightly smiled at Emily. She took a half step in that direction, but stopped, appalled, at Naodan, who slid in next to Yayoi's only gal pal.  
"Wha…?" the pig-tailed girl began, leering ahead of her.

Ringo, upon Yayoi's words, as though they were a cue, sat next to the fish.  
Sakanako grinned, acknowledging the Noyamano's presence and then searched her mentality for something to say. She couldn't help but witness the bus seat teen drama unfolding in the corner of her eye.

Emily stared awkwardly at the stranger next to her, and she tried to shoo her away as politely as possible. She didn't want to be known as the "girl who ditched her best friend", but she didn't exactly want to be known as a "bitch to new girls with no friends" either. She scratched the back of her neck, and pulled off her most innocent smile, "Hey, um…sorry, but this seat's kind of reserved for my friend…can you please move? Sorry," but before Naodan could answer, the bus lurched forward and began to cruise through the beachy scenery.

Miss Ayumi was seated up front and turned only to notice 2 people were left standing.  
Yayoi Nakayama, and the "Male Nerd" Agito had refused to partner with.

She smiled cheerfully, "Yayoi, you can come up here and sit by me…" she saw the nerd's excitement and anxiety. She could tell that he was anticipating sitting next to her as well. She shivered.  
"Um. You can sit by Agito and Izumi, it looks like there's room there."

The nerd looked confused, "Wanijima? Ma'am, his name is Akito."

"Oh, right. It's a…a nickname! Right!" the only reason Miss Ayumi called Agito "Agito" was because she had called him "Akito" before, and Sakanako corrected her with the help of Agito's bitch glare.

The nerd stared expectantly at Agito, closest to the edge, and he waited for him to scoot over, "Wanijima, move," he commanded, in that irritating, nasally voice that Agito hated so much.

"So um, I guess you're used to school trips? This is my first one that's lasted more than a day. In Osaka, we'd just go somewhere gay, eat pizza and then come back," Sakanako chatted, before picking up the itinerary and reading the trip's plans, "We're going to arrive at the hotel…we have 2 hours to ourselves, have a welcoming party in the banquet hall and then go to bed," Sakanako read to herself, aloud, "Tomorrow, we're at the beach and we're going to an American culture park thing…"  
"Oh. Yeah. Sounds like fun,… " Ringo replied, uninterestedly, shooting a glance at Ikki, like she had been doing the entire bus trip.

Honestly, she was _**trying**_ to talk to Sakanako, but her Ikki-obsession was natural to her.  
Like a bad habit.

"Fuck no. I'm not letting you sit with me, Pimpleface." Agito hissed, looking out the window, as Izumi currently preoccupied his time doing.

Yayoi sighed, shot a glare at Nao, and then sat down beside her slut-bag teacher.  
Miss Ayumi was dumb, but not dumb enough to hear Agito, "Wanijima! Sit up here with me and keep your mouth shut until we get to the hotel! You do NOT speak to your classmates that way, young man!" she scolded fiercely.

Sakanako's attention was brought to the male's side of the bus, and she cracked a smile of amusement as the nerd took Agito's seat beside Izumi.  
When she knew Agito could see her, she stuck her tongue out playfully before returning her attention to Ringo. Her left eyebrow raised, "You _**really**_like him? Not like it's any of my business, but…. Why?"

Emily crossed her arms before her gaze turned to Kazu, and she sighed with desire to speak to him. She fidgeted restlessly in her seat.  
Kazu's hair, for a limited time only, bore no beanie to cover its dull, dirty blonde.  
He sunk to the pit of his seat, to the point that the curve of his back was rotund in his hunched position, so he'd dodge the teacher's gaze, and pulled the white beanie over his tussle of hair.

Looking about, sneakily all the while, he told Ikki to let him have the seat closest to the window, and after convincing him, he crawled out of sight, or tried to, anyways.

"Why the hell do I--?!" Agito's voice rang within the chambers of the ghetto school bus, "I just—It wasn't even--," he sighed angrily, "Whatever."  
As he passed his girlfriend, he grinned at her, bearing each fang, and slightly arched both eyebrows, as if to say, 'This teacher is such a motherfucking bitch :)', when in reality, he was the one being unreasonably mean.

The angry little boy thrust himself into the vacant seat next to Miss Ayumi and Yayoi's, which he had all to himself. His legs spread themselves leisurely across the uncomfortable leather, his back pressed against the window, and he propped an elbow on the backrest of his seat.

It was at this moment that Ringo finally heard Sakanako, "Oh, huh? No—I don't like him!" she lied, anticipating that Sakanako would go blabbering to Ikki as soon as the truth was revealed. An extremely light pink crept across the apple of her cheeks, which helped absolutely nothing.

She tried to find a distraction. Something needed to grab Sakanako's attention.  
That's when a pair of yellow, shark-like eyes peered at them.

Ringo looked directly at Agito, like he was the most important thing in the world, so Sakanako would be tempted to look.  
At this, Agito stared back at Ringo like she was a "fucking" retard, but she continued to stare intensely at the innocent Fang King.

Naodan watched the scene curiously, as she spoke to Emily, "So , do you like Kazu?" her silvery, light voice questioned, casually.  
Emily's head turned when the word "Kazu" was spoken. She smiled.  
Her smile was a cross between embarrassment, shyness and nervousness, "Well, uh—yeah. You can say that. I haven't really told him how I feel yet, but I'm pretty sure he knows already," she massaged her temples a bit and her eyes closed as she confessed, "—he always catches me looking at him. Tell you the truth, I have no idea how he feels about me…" there was a short excerpt of air from her nose.

Then her eyes opened and she remembered, "Oh. Sorry, I forgot to tell you; My name's Emily. I was raised in America until 5th grade, so…yeah. I was gone visiting my family for a while, but I'm back now. There are some new people here, and I think I don't know you. What's your name?" she questioned, the perfect aura of "friendly" floating all around her.

A couple of seats a head was Sakanako, who fell brainlessly into Ringo's set up. She took notice to staring at Agito and blinked, oddly, "Um. What're you looking at?" she asked, dumbly, forgetting the earlier conversation that she had tried to pull. Her gaze was held in Agito's direction, and she arched a brow quizzically before, again, looking at Ringo, eyebrow still raised, "I don't get it. Are you trying to communicate with my boyfriend through telepathy? It doesn't work. I've tried," she said bluntly, no sarcasm intended. She was serious, "I think he's immune to brainwaves."

Ikki glared at Kazu for attempting to steal _**his**_ window seat, "No! Stop it. Get back over there, I want the window!" he snarled, immaturely.

Miss Ayumi didn't notice. She was reading a copy of A.I.R. magazine, an article of new girly outfits for Storm Riders. She wasn't a storm rider, but she was completely in love with Spitfire. She was just as infatuated with him as Sakanako had been when she first fell.

Ringo glanced back at Sakanako, when Agito got so frustrated that he just decided not to stare at them anymore, and smiled slightly, relieved that her plan had worked that easily; if she could preoccupy Sakanako with talk of Agito, all would be well, "Yeah. Probably so," she mumbled, making herself not look at Ikki when he shouted.

Correspondent to Ikki's demand were Kazu's complaints, "Jerk! That's no reason to be an asshole; you always get the window seat when you go on trips!" The blonde's white beanie, instead of crawling next to the window, ducked beneath the cover of the seat.

"Nao. I'm from Osaka," the girl's voice was countrified on the "oh" un-intentionally, "But you should date him. You'd be such a ca-yuuute couple!" Naodan squealed, voice now appropriately Tokyo-ish, and bouncing with gossipy excitement.

Yayoi, meanwhile, as Agito failed at not looking at his girlfriend, noticed the A.I.R. magazine in her teacher's hands, "You ride AT's? Are you kidding me?" she sighed, finding it irritating that everyone she could ever possibly know would happen to ride AT's.

"Oh, no. I just… really like their lifestyle. So free, you know?" Miss Ayumi explained.

Then, the bus arrived.


	6. Taking Sips

The hotel opened around the group of adolescent teenagers like the setting of a play; each brightly illuminating light placed upon the walls seemed upside down, like a misplaced prop of some sort, and sent a golden array creeping up the well-painted ginger walls.

Naodan cringed at its efforts to look nice. Even the corners of the large lobby's room were decorated with faux-pearl angels, each standing next to an exotic fern of a sort, and staring at the student's with piercingly pale eyes.

The hotel gave an excellent demonstration of what an upper-class hotel should look like, but wasn't quite achieving its goal of being that hotel; matter-of-fact, its faux everything was a bit tacky.  
"This is…cheap." Nao directed to the girl "Emily" who she'd been clinging to since the bus ride there, as she eyed the lady behind the lobby's counter—the woman's blonde was too stiff to be natural, and she wore bright red lipstick to accompany an equally bright pair of blue eyes: tacky.

"Well, this was probably the best our school could do. I'm glad," arose Kazu's voice, as he approached Naodan and Emily from behind.  
He smiled at the two, beanie leering at the girls all the while.

Naodan crept to Sakanako's side.

Ringo, who'd strayed away from the Tidal Queen, was passed, without, even, a glance, from Agito.  
"Two hours is all we get to ourselves? That's bullshit," she heard the shark complain to his "little fish".  
"Two hours is enough to watch 4 cartoon episodes," Sakanako replied at random, before shifting her weight to her right hip. Her gaze wandered and drifted, taking in the hotel's desperate attempts to look expensive. She caught a glimpse of the superficial hotel employee and her eye twitched,  
"Holy Hell. It's like… the 40 year old version of Barbie. This place is scary…" she averted her gaze to Agito and smiled a bit, despite her complaints.

Emily felt heat touch her cheeks as she heard Kazu join the conversation and she faked a laugh that was just as faux as the hotel.

"Last year we stayed at a motel that smelt like BO and roses; I was stuck on the 13th floor with Yayoi. It was, well, creepy…Aha!"  
'_That's right Emily, leave a comment that anyone can answer to…_'  
Her breast lowered as she exhaled a breath she had been holding since she began her reply.

Ikki hadn't said anything yet, but noticed Sakanako's statement and decided to butt in "You think this is scary? You should've seen where we went last year."  
As Ikki spoke, Akito begged, '_Agito, please let me out for these 2 hours?'_

'_Fuck no. I have something that needs to get done, today; you can't get in my way. Tomorrow.' _he replied, coldly.

"No one's gonna put up with your shitty stories, Crow. Go away." Agito stabbed at Ikki.  
His hand snagged the hem of her shirt and he tugged, trying to draw her aside, and away from the crowd of annoying teens.  
A low growl emitted from his little throat as he did this.

Yet, one factor might have posed a threat to Agito's plan: Naodan stood next to Sakanako, a hand about the fish's arm.  
Her pink eyes were reserved, and gleaming with a healthy glow against the warm light of the room, pitifully. Compared to her usually bubbly self, this was her "shy"; probably because she didn't have any friends other than Izumi, who had preoccupied himself with the snack machine.

Kazu, meanwhile, stared at Emily with a quirky smile of amusement and puzzlement on his expression  
"I don't remember...but do you want to go eat at the place that's supplying free food here? I think the rest of the guys are coming too…"

Emily felt her throat materialize a golf ball, but she swallowed it after he said 'the rest of the guys are coming'.  
"Oh yeah, sure, why not?" she laughed awkwardly. Her arms were behind her back so he couldn't see her playing with her fingers. '_Calm down. We're only talking! It's not a big deal or anything.'_

Despite Agito's attempts, Sakanako failed to do as he pleased. She caught notice of Izumi trying to locate the coin slot on the snack machine, and she grinned, mockingly, "That's just **sad**."

She passed Naodan a look and a quick smile before she looked to Ikki and tilted her head a bit, "Oh? Where'd you stay last year?" she asked, curiously, before her hand slipped over Agito's to let him know she remembered him.

Ikki smirked smugly at Agito before replying, "Okay, well the place smelt really sour, and with, like, an air freshener that stunk just as bad and…"  
Ikki's voice trailed as Akito's voice intruded Agito's head, '_What do you have to do today? Besides the party and now, you won't get to see Sakanako until…the day after tomorrow! What could you put in that time frame that's so important?'_

'_A lot. My schedule is different from the school's.' _His reply was short and sweet, and somewhat cruel to his alter ego.  
Only a moment passed before he grew impatient with the gestures of acknowledgement, so he slipped his hand from hers with the slightest degree of a tug, and shoved his once preoccupied digits into his pockets as he sauntered away. "Chh." He searched for something to do within the room.

Naodan's smile spread like wildfire as Izumi desperately tried to feed the machine a dollar bill, after he gave up on locating the coin slot. It wasn't quite working.  
Her body unintentionally teetered towards the pathetic little puppy-dog, but her attention found Sakanako, again.  
Hope flickered within her; Was Sakanako forgiving her?  
Nao's eyes twinkled, naturally, correspondent to this new found beckoning.

Then, Kazu's voice echoed towards Ikki: "Hey Ikki! You wanna go eat, now?" his voice was light and cheerful, as expected from Kazu.

Ikki looked in the direction of Kazu, "Yeah, sure!" he called, before his arm swung over Sakanako's shoulders as an invitation.  
She hesitated before nudging him, playfully, "Actually, I think Agito made plans. He's pouting."  
Ikki shrugged, "Yeah, well, whatever. You go hang out with your pissy boyfriend if you want to," he muttered, unoffended.

Sakanako freed herself from Ikki's arm and began to pad towards Agito, loyally, "Baby!" she chirped, casually at him.

Emily was making mental cliffnotes on how to behave while she called out to Naodan, "Nao, you're invited too, we don't mind if you join us!" she saw a bit of Yayoi over her shoulder and smiled, "You're coming too, Yayoi." she alerted the female.

'_A different schedule? What do you mean by that? We can't do a Parts War, we'll get in trouble!' _Akito persisted, resistantly.  
'_Can you stop talking, now? Shut your fuckin' mouth.' _he snapped at the poor boy, '_You're getting on my fucking nerves!'_

In the real world, Agito spun around to face Sakanako. A grin cracked upon his expression, and held two keen, neatly crafted fangs. The gesture was his greeting, invented in a split second, and was one more thing that made Agito individual.  
But as quickly as greetings come, they go, and the Fang King's grin evaporated.  
"Yeah?" the pitch of his voice was flat compared to his usual, and even his composure was sluggish with boredom.

The thin, black slits of his eyes looked over his girlfriend protectively, and he began to stalk in the opposite direction of Kogarasumaru, keeping a pace that the fish could match.  
"I didn't really have plans; just sick of those morons and their loudass mouths," Wanijima explained, contradicting her earlier statement.

His hand dangled between them, vacantly.

"Izumi, we're going to lunch!"Nao called to the hungry dog at the machine; he looked p at the group, brown eyes round with the sorrow of defeat, though that quickly changed when he saw his friends.  
Izumi shoved the crumpled bill in his pocket and trotted along with the group, obediently.

"Were you functioning so mindlessly that you didn't realize you were trying to put the dollar in upside down?" Yayoi cut at him.  
"Oh. Huh,..." an awkward laugh, "I guess not."  
"Well, I mean… it _**has**_ a picture."

Even Nao could see he wasn't in his right mind; distracted he seemed, almost. Definitely distracted.

"Yeah…" he mumbled mindlessly to Nakayama, whose only reply was a slight scoff.

Emily glanced over their group and realized they were one head sharp, but one head flat as well. Her brown eyes ventured the lobby, and then found what they were looking for: Ringo. "Hey Ringo. Come on! We're gonna get lunch!"

Ikki had already began to walk ahead, with Buccha and Onigiri close behind him. He hadn't taken an notice to Ringo.  
Emily hesitated as the rest of the group began to follow Ikki's trail.

Sakanako stood in front of the elevator after pressing one of the buttons with the logo of an upwards pointed arrow on it. Her hand slipped into his and she swayed it back and forth flirtatiously as she passed a smile and pawned a question, "Well, what do you want to do for 2 hours, anyways? You know I can't be on the boy floor, right?"  
Her middle fingers stroked the inside of his palm, affectionately. The doors slid open smoothly before them, and she stepped in, pulling him gently behind her.  
"We could go watch 4 cartoons…" she suggested, unseriously, as she gazed naturally upon his face. The elevator silently closed, but Sakanako failed to press the floor button. She didn't know what his little mind was planning.

Akito had ceased talking, but inside the mentality, he had curled up grumpily. All he could do was watch what was happening, mute and unable to move. He hated how Agito didn't respect his feelings. This brought a question to his mind. His voice came, covering another one of Sakanako's suggestions,

'_Agito, do you think maybe we're in love with the same person because we're really just one conscience?'_

Sakanako's mouth stopped moving, and she arched a brow, expectantly.

A calm silence overcame the boy, similar in the manner to the exorbitant grey clouds that stood silently and threateningly before a storm; '_**No.**_' This is where his expression would have carved a scowl onto the area of his lips if he let it, '_We're not the same.'_

Revealing no evidence of his inner conflict to Sakanako, he gazed calmly into her uncurtained green eye. He didn't hear her last suggestion, but he didn't need to.  
He raised his left arm to the panel of dimly lit buttons on the wall of the elevator, and jabbed one baring a "3" on its surface; the girls' floor was on the 3rd floor.  
The dim glow of the button ripened to a healthy, illuminating gold.

"Those dumbass teachers won't catch me—we'll find your room and watch…cartoons," he replied, making a face that emitted disgust as he said 'cartoons'.  
"Unless you have something else you want to do."  
'_I'm not you; got that?! You're a completely different person—' _  
Disregarding his mental dispute, his small skinny fingers clenched around hers a bit harder than usual, each digit jabbing hers with their angles and rigid disposition.  
'_What kind of idiot do you have to be to think something so fucking stupid?'  
_"Then I don't give a fuck."

* * *

Ringo stared after her group of friends; Ikki didn't even care if she was there, after all.  
She watched him laugh and smile with his friends, and then sighed, '_Oh well._'  
After a moment, she followed after them, trotting to catch pace. "Coming," her voice was flatter than the normal.

* * *

Emily nudged Ringo with her elbow in the hotel's restaurant cafeteria thing.  
"Ringo…! You've got to crank it up a notch! Now's the perfect chance!" she whispered, before following shyly behind Kazu. '_Hypocrite. __**You**__ need to turn it up a notch.'  
_"Hey, Kazu, can we sit together?" she asked, nervously, before some restaurant/cafeteria lady plopped a greasy slice of pizza on her plate.

Ikki was at the coke machine, trying to find the plastic lid that fit his size of drink.  
Ringo gulped.  
'_Okay…Ikki's not the smartest…well, even remotely the smartest…H-he probably just doesn't notice that I…uh. Well, I guess I am kind of like his sister, but…'  
_She took her place at his side, afront the coke machine, and pretended to be preoccupied with getting a glass of Sprite.

It wasn't until she filled the glass three fourths of the way full that she "happened" to notice Ikki.  
Her hand was hovering over the plastic lids as she spoke, intentionally close to his.  
'…_uh._'  
An awkward giggle; forced, ofcourse.

"Ikki…" her voice was a playful scold, "You're supposed to have…this lid," she pressed one towards him, "…uh…_**silly**_." Her voice was muddled with an attempt at being flirty, and the dissatisfaction of her failure at once.  
'_…!' _she cleared her throat to recover, then smiled at the crow.  
"It's labeled," she added, so she wouldn't sound scolding, and pointed a slender finger at the labeled compilation of lids that read "Medium".  
Her eyes, a hue of violet, glanced to his drink; large.  
The small digits of her hands scrambled about, quickly, and seized a 'large' cap.  
Another awkward giggle.

Kazu, meanwhile, stared quizzically at Emily; "Uh…" he blinked, innocently, and then smiled slightly, "Yeah. I really don't care. Sure." He was carrying his own plate, which held a moist slab of pizza and a rock-hard cheese stick.  
He looked questioningly at the table of friends, where he and Emily would sit next to one another, and then an empty table; it was her preference.

Emily looked in between the two options provided. She bit the inside of her lip as thoughts flowed across her mental stream like salmon to their breeding ground.  
'_…well, if we sit by ourselves, he might find me boring, plus he'll have no one else to talk to…'  
_"Hi, Buccha." she greeted randomly, as she strided to the table.  
Naodan was chatting aimlessly to him, so it was unlikely that the tank had even heard Emily over the penguin girl's chattering.

Kazu sat down beside Emily, after the girl chose her seat, and bit into the rock-hard cheese stick. It was refusing to be eaten, so he put it aside; there wasn't even an indention of his teeth in the substance's surface.

"So what do you guys think we should do after this? I don't know… the beach?" the beanie-wearer proposed.

"No…we'd have to unload our bathing suits…" the argumentation came from Naodan.  
"I vote the beach." Izumi, grinning slyly.  
Naodan looked to Emily and Buccha for back-up, with a pair of jewel-like pink eyes, each pleading for a different plan. She knew Onigiri would pledge his allegiance to seeing any girl in her bathing suit, so she didn't ask the pig.

Ikki arched a brow questioningly as Ringo pushed the two caps towards him. Her awkward laughing confused him, yet he sealed the mouth of the cup with the 'large' cap. "Thanks," he said, casually. He was wondering why she was acting so weird, "Uh, Ringo, are you feeling okay? You haven't talked to me all day until now," he pointed out.

Buccha noticed Naodan's gaze and he answered Kazu, "Actually, I think I'm gonna unpack."

Emily's knees buckled beneath the table as she spoke, "Well, uhm…! Izumi, me and you could go to the beach, Kazu…" she suggested, helplessly.

Onigiri sat down at the table, mumbling to himself.

"Emily, it's alright. It's not a big deal, anyway. I think we should do something else," he smiled assuredly at the group.  
Then, Onigiri caught his attention, "Hey, man. What took you so long to get here?"  
The question wasn't expecting an answer, for he turned his attention to the two at the coke machines.  
"…?"

Ringo stared at Ikki in wonder for only a moment, "Y-you were expecting me to talk to you, then? Aha-ha…you know how these school trips get…" she placed a cap over her Sprite and nabbed a straw from the bundle.  
"Hey, uh, Ikki, what are you planning to do for the two hours…?"

Ikki shrugged, "I dunno, maybe the beach. Kazu said something about it on the bus earlier." He replied, simple-mindedly, the way he always did. He locked eye-levels with her for a second, "So I guess you're making friends with Sakanako, then? That's pretty cool…" he conversated, vaguely.

Emily sighed as Kazu's attention was stolen and her topic was dismissed.

"Not really…I barely know her…" Ringo smiled at him although this wasn't her preferred topic of discussion, she was talking to the Ikki she liked so much.  
'_…turn up the juice…turn up the juice…'_

"U-uh, hey, when you finish eating, we could…mm… check out the beach; yeah..." she paused.

"So instead of the beach, we could just shop, or something," Nao's voice echoed, the pitch sharp, towards the forbidden fruit and crow.

"While everyone else…shops…" Ringo finished, voice shaking slightly from the insecurity and anxiety of potential rejection.  
"We could go shopping with them. Don't girls like you enjoy that kind of stuff?"  
"…Y-yeah. Right," she faked a laugh, "What was I thinking? 'Course…you'd want to go with everyone else." Ringo gulped back the lump in her throat, for its purpose was served.

Her eyes averted their focus from his, and she turned, to stride toward the "group" of people that had stolen her date.

'_I think I saw that coming. There's no reason to be…'_

"Hey, Ringo." Kazu greeted throwing a hand up at the distraught girl, in attempt at a wave. His expression was dull, stricken with boredom..  
"Mm. Hey." She mumbled back at him, then, for an excuse to keep her mouth shut, she closed her lips around her straw and pretended to take an exaggerantly long 'sip'…

Ikki was stupid, but he somehow noticed Ringo's discontentment, "Don't get the wrong idea or anything, Ringo. I mean, I have to share my great presence with everyone, you know?" he explained, big-headedly as usual.

Emily was thinking of ways to regain Kazu's attention, but couldn't think up of anything. She boredly began to cut up little segments of pizza with a white plastic knife.

Buccha had finished his first plate and got up to get his second, but he stopped, "We might oughta check out the teams around here; we could probably sneak out during the party," he mentioned to the table.  
Onigiri's eyes brightened, "Think we'll see naked chicks?!"

No reply.

Buccha looked over to Emily and Yayoi, "You girls can cover for us, right?"  
Emily was oddly depressed and stirring her Dr.Pepper silently with her straw. She sighed, "Don't we always do that anyways?" she slumped in her chair as Ikki took an empty seat.  
He had been listening to Buccha, so he was able to contribute to the conversation, "We'll have to force Agito out of his room. Or bring Akito."  
Buccha nodded in agreement to this, "Since we're C-class, it'd be nice to have him there to fight off any threats. I heard that the cities around this island have a high Storm Rider reputation." They nodded solemnly.

Yayoi grunted, expression still dull, "Ofcourse we'll cover for you guys. _**Again**_." she said, almost too loudly.

Ringo sneered, the breath coming through her nose quickly and abruptly, like an amused laugh. Her expression didn't appear very amused.

"Hey, it's alright. Not a big deal, anyways. I think I'm gonna stay here with Emily and Yayoi, though." She chirped, anxious for her gal pal's pep-talk.

Yayoi smiled assuredly at Ringo. She understood the situation, "Yeah. We'll attend the dance as wallflowers and look down on all the happy little people for being happy," the Nakayama laughed, sarcastically.  
Ringo smiled back at her, then "sipped" her drink again.

Ikki grinned, "Kay then, we leave at 6:00 tonight! Meet me at the city's square!"


	7. Failed Attempt

** I don't own Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Courage the Cowardly Dog, SpongeBob SquarePants, Sprite or anything else like that mentioned.**

* * *

"Okay, then." Sakanako replied, cheerily, "I'm pretty sure the hall monitors are still in the lobby…" the doors slid open, and Sakanako led Agito out of the enclosement, "I'm in room 914…" she muttered.

Her voice was dubbed over by Akito again, who _**didn't**_ find his thoughts very stupid, '_Well, I mean think about it! Wouldn't it only make sense that you suddenly fell for Sakanako right after I started to like her? I mean, you used to not care, and __now__ you're trying to have sex with her! I'm not that mad or anything, but I'm really starting to think that you only like her because I did first!'_

Sakanako was already at room 914, screwing a key impatiently into the door, "You wanna watch Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network?" she asked. The door croaked open, and a neatly cleaned room was revealed. "I think SpongeBob's on, and I think Courage the Cowardly Dog should be playing about this time."  
Her jeans crinkled beneath her butt as she walked to the bed.  
Crease, uncrease, crease, uncrease…

Akito came back, '_Nevermind. I lied, it does make me mad. Agito, please just watch cartoons, I don't want to get in trouble for something I didn't do! Please!'_

Sakanako super-hero-dived onto the bed with a laugh, and then rolled over on her back. She reached for the little grey remote which say promptly on the end table between the two beds.  
"Sit, boy! I command you!" she patted a nice, fluffy space beside her.

Agito paused for only a single fraction of a second; the gesture was so minute, that it was almost unconceivable that he might be doing anything other than thinking of which cartoon he would prefer, even though this decision was quite obvious.  
"Courage, "he mumbled, obviously uninterested in the TV.

He crawled onto the bed, but didn't lay down; his knees were pulled against his chest and his bright yellow eyes dully caught by the purple dog being abused on the TV.  
Still obviously uninterested.

'_That's your opinion; my opinion is that you're a dumbass who doesn't know what he's talking about, and you're trying to talk me out of sex. It isn't working.'_

"I didn't know you were serious about cartoons, baby fish. Is this what you do with your free time? That's pathetic," Agito scoffed, playfully.  
"Not usually," she replied, before she looked up at him. She looked irritated when she realized he wasn't looking at her, or paying attention to her, whatsoever.

"Sharky, lay down, you look dominant when that's how I usually look," she said, quietly. Her mouth hung in a frown, and her arms crossed. One of her knees bent a little, and her foot plowed furrows in the blankets. She was fidgety.

'_Please, Agito. Don't you think this'll spoil it? I thought you'd probably want it to be special. I'll give you the body back tomorrow night, and you can do it on the tideline. Please, Agito, no…' _Akito continued to plead.

Sakanako looked unsatisfied.

"Sharky" grinned at her: his first sign of amusement.  
"I _**should**_ be dominant. Don't you think?" he scoffed, and glanced at the TV once more.  
A moment later, he disappeared beneath the blanket and the next thing to reveal itself was the deep marine of his hair.

Within a few seconds, the blanket was at his shoulders, and he was laying on his side, peering at her, curiously, "I can't see the TV like this," he muttered, pretending to throw a glance over his shoulder and at the TV, though he wasn't particularly concerned with the cartoon.

"You're distracting me." In his scratchy voice was a tone that hinted at anger, but even more so than this was the amused, teasing hue that colored his voice, and co-existed with this "anger".  
He made a point to stare only at the TV, and to** not **provide Sakanako with his undivided attention, like he assumed she wanted him to.

Despite this, their bodies were obnoxiously close on the mattress, and there wasn't much Akito could do about it. And speaking of Agito's poor alter ego?

He was completely ignored.

Sakanako grunted, agitated, and turned off the TV. Courage was shut off in the middle of a dramatic scream. Her hair was swept out of her eye, making both eyes visible. These orbs of green narrowed.  
"Agito. Look at me," she demanded, pouting.

Agito arched a brow at Sakanako, grinning, once more. "But we're supposed to watch cartoons, right? You turned off the TV…" he scoffed at her, still amused.  
His hand brushed her side, lightly, "Okay. My attention's yours. What do you want to do to entertain men, now?" The suggestion was more of a challenge, but she had it coming; she'd cut all means of entertainment and pulled the spotlight onto herself.

"I don't know. Something," she answered, before her irises looked away from his yellow one and accompanying eyepatch, "Just don't do anything." she added.  
She felt his hand on her waist and she bit her lip, avoiding to confront a smile. She knew what she wanted to do, but her ability to read his actions was failing her. She was becoming a little timid, and a rosy blush tinted the brim of cheek beneath her averted gaze.

"You're so…weird. I can't figure you out sometimes…" she murmured to herself, though she was talking about Agito.  
In return, the male stared quizzically at her, "That's not entertaining," he teased, furthermore.

His eye barely caught the blush that lightly touched her cheeks.  
A warm, moist tongue stroked the ripe cheek with its tip.

"Ngh…" Sakanako mumbled, before she smiled unwillingly, and gently pushed him away from her face, playfully, ofcourse, "Get outta my face…!" she laughed, before rolling over to avoid him.

"Sakanako." His voice was scolding, like she was a small child that needed to be apprehended. His grip on her side tightened, and he rolled her over to face him, forcefully.  
The gaze he held wasn't quite a glare, but similar enough. His hand slid down the supporting chord of her back; one of its finger's blade pressed anxiously against it, following and tracing each null of protruding bone, carefully.  
Eventually, his palm was pressed against her lower back, so she had no chance of escape.  
"We'll watch cartoons if you're too embarrassed," he mocked, staring, directly, at the blush upon her cheeks. His brow arched upward, teasingly.

Her eyes narrows again, and an open hand smacked his head loosely. The tint of her cheeks brightened to a noticeable degree and she declared insistently, "I'm not embarrassed, just a little shy," her bangs fell over her right eye, the way they usually did, pulled by gravity.

Her hand adventurously slid to his ribcage, despite her shyness, revealing that she wasn't giving up on the idea. Small locks of sepia continued to slide down, over her face, and she blew at them in agitation, avoiding having to look him in the eyes.

Agito snickered at Sakanako, "You're pathetic."

The hand that braced against her lower back pulled her body against his, then relaxed and allotted her two inches of vacant space between them.  
His lips lowered themselves to her collarbone, and the same tongue that had earlier stroked her cheek caressed the define structure of the bone at the base of her neck.  
After a moment, he discovered her throat.  
A thermal, humid breath danced against her skin, before his artificial fangs enclosed around her neck.  
He became a leech on Sakanako.

Sakanako's hand slid up the fabric of Agito's clothing until it reached the back of his head. Her fingers tasseled his marine hair, locks slipping between her knuckles.  
The muscles in her neck stretched, straightening and allowing him to get a better grip on her neck.  
His teeth were like porcelain, coated with a thin, cool later of saliva.

She answered him with a loud breath of pleasure.

'_Agito, Stop it, now!' _Akito returned.

* * *

"I'm going to find my room," Ringo's words were cold, and she barely bothered to invite anyone else, as her fingers clawed the tray of uneaten food and Sprite into a compilation. She turned without further word.

"Me, too." Yayoi glanced to Emily, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her along, without bothering to let her clean up her mess.

Kazu, instead of watching Emily take her leave, found himself looking at Ringo, "So you don't want to find your rooms?" the question was directed to the Osakans, but they didn't answer.  
Mikura quieted himself by eating his pizza.

* * *

Wanjima's tongue lapped, heavily, against her skin, and he sucked gently.  
His other arm, that wasn't preoccupied with holding her back, propped him upwards, and he shifted over her, smoothly.  
The palm at her lower back glided upwards, to midpoint, and forced an arch.

Simultaneous to this, his mouth smoldered hers, following its removal from her neck.  
The thrust of his jaw forced her into a kiss, while the ends of his blue hair touched her cheeks, lightly.  
His hair, itself, was attempting to seduce the fish, each sweep of a tip across her skin another promise of pleasure.

With this, came his response to Akito: '_But… I __**want**__ to.'_

When he assumed that the arch in her back was stable enough, his hand ventured to her inner thigh, and then higher, to the wall of her entrance.  
His middle finger pressed, threateningly, against the clothing that protected it.

A heavy breath pressed to the back of her throat as he kissed her.

Suddenly, thuds echoed down the hallway; the stomps of an infuriated Ringo. The sound crescendoed, and then faded—she'd passed clean by.  
Agito felt a twinge of relief sweep over him.

"Ringo! You're in 914—that's right here!" It was Yayoi's voice, muffled, but clearly right behind the door that guarded Agito and Sakanako.

'_Fuuuuck!! What the hell __**IS**__ this?!'_

"Chnk" echoed the doorknob, , as a hand turned it from the opposite side.  
Agito had not the time or effort to pull his lips from Sakanako's, yet his eyes watched in disbelief.  
'_**No! Stop it, cunt! Stop!!**__'_  
He wished people could read minds but… sadly, they couldn't.

Illuminating, piercing light broke the dimly lit room's atmosphere in the form of a thin line, and then spread over the two figures on the bed like a large, rectangular spotlight.

"**. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .**"

Yayoi's eyes widened at the scene, observing every detail of the figures' positions.  
For an agonizing three seconds, Agito leered at her, his yellow eyes drilling into her feeble brown one's, then, her expression regained its dull casualty, "Oh. Sorry," she didn't sound sorry, "It's not like I intend to totally ruin your moment or anything, but Ringo needs her room, and you two need to go downstairs."

Another onlooker, this apple looking to kill, appeared in the door, ruining Agito and Sakanako's chance of recovering the moment, completely.

"Fuck." his voice was echoing a twinge of disappointment, and an incredible amount of fury, as he pulled himself from Sakanako's kiss and off of her, completely.  
His middle finger shot upwards, and aimed at the two girls.

Sakanako, too, was speechless, but her glowering peridot optics spoke for themselves. There was a silence that buzzed obnoxiously about the room and Sakanako sat up, eyes still leering.  
She swept her hair over her right eye, the way it was usually held, only to hide one of her burning cheeks.

She didn't reply to Yayoi.

This stranger had put her in a position where she couldn't retort or explain herself.  
Already, this classmate was scarring a negative impression onto Sakanako's judgmental heart.  
What did the pig-tailed girl **expect** her to say?  
The fish exerted a sigh of uncomfort.  
She watched Agito questioningly, wondering what he would do next.

Akito, inside, was relieved and he too sighed, '_…that was close…' _he thought to himself, but not really himself because Agito, ofcourse, could hear his every thought.

Emily also appeared in the doorway. Her muddy irises blinked quizzically, because she hadn't been there to witness, "Um, Agito, the boys wanted to meet up with you during the party. Looking for storm riders, or something. It's at 6 at the city's square," she explained to him, trying to kill the stubborn silence.

The blankets shifted with soft hisses as Sakanako pulled them over her head in aggravation. She mumbled some inaudible words to herself and the blanket curled.

"Ofcourse I have to go help their sorry asses; not like they could do a damn thing themselves…" his voice was dark, each note and pitch ripped, reluctantly, from his throat.

He growled, and passed one more glanced to the lump on the bed.  
A sigh and quiet footsteps of a petite little boy is all Sakanako could've heard, before a trio of girls spilled into the room, silently cueing Agito's leave.

"…Sorry about that." Yayoi mumbled, again, **not** sounding sorry.

Ringo laid herself onto her bed, and Yayoi plopped down next to her.  
Despite the urge to comfort her poor friend Ringo, the threat of speaking was much too intimidating.  
Nakayama's eyes strictly observed Sakanako's lump.

The lump was unmoving as Emily entered the room and took a seat near Ringo and Yayoi. Her eyes looked to the Sakanako lump and then back to her two friends, "Sorry for what? What, Agito? Why was he in here, anyways?" she asked, cluelessly.

The blanket rustled irritantly.

Sakanako could hear every word being said, and she hated how they seemed to be ignoring her presence to gossip about **her** while she remained in the room.  
She groaned loudly, to let her frustration be noticed, and to give the girls a sign to change the subject.

But Emily didn't catch it; she was curious as to what had happened previously.

"Agito," the name was odd on Yayoi's tongue, "Was trying to "get it on", if I'm not mistaken."  
Yayoi was ignorant of Sakanako's presence, or, rather, neglecting it all together.  
She'd gossip freely if she wanted to.

"Sakanako may be able to give you the whole story, if you ask nicely," she persisted, and followed with a quite casual, lazy yawn, "So how about you explain then, Sakanako? What _**was **_happening, just now?"  
Her voice was almost teasing, but much too laid back to be distinguished as mocking.

Sakanako's head poked out of the blankets and creases furrowed across her forehead as she glared at the female sourly. There was some silence as Sakanako's anger thought of something to say,  
"**Hell no, it's none of any of you's business anyways, nosey asses, **"she snarled, lowly.  
Somehow, she made this awkward and grammatically incorrect sentence sound threatening.

Her hair had random strands hanging freely in their wrong sectors, due to the friction of the blankets.

Emily filled herself in, "So…wow. A lot of stuff has happened while I was in America. The transfer students, and now Agito's got a girlfriend…" she muttered to herself.

Sakanako triggered another dirty look in Yayoi's direction before yanking the covers over herself again, "…**smartass cow…**" was angrily whispered beneath the Osakan's blanket fortress.

"Excuse me? What was that? I didn't hear you." Yayoi said politely, leering at Sakanako all the while.  
Ringo sighed, signaling the girls to leave her alone and to leave the room.

Yayoi didn't pick up on Ringo's failed attempt, and neither did Emily.

"Nothing, _**Bessie**_," Sakanako retorted, after rolling her eyes.


	8. Screw the Party

**6:08 p.m.**

Kazu arrived ahead of his herd, blue eyes peering anxiously across the square, "This is so sweet! Way better than being stuck at some dance," he expressed, excitedly .

"I'd much rather be here," Naodan agreed, eyeing the shops adorning the said square, in which Kazu and friends stood.

"Where's crow-boy?" interjected Izumi, who looked around, curiously.  
Kazu cringed and shrugged, "Dunno."

"That makes a lot of fucking sense! Wasn't that asshole the one who organized this non-fucking-syndical gathering?!" Agito's voice carried the words to the ear drums of strangers, who passed him looks of disapproval and wonder.

"Mn… I'mma shop! Izumi come with me…?" Nao suddenly blurted. Completely ignoring Agito's fit, and clinging needily to Izumi's arm.  
Izumi didn't answer; his smoldering eyes were glazed, obviously not looking upon the current scene, but another one, entirely.  
An odd sensation had pressed his attention; he felt so out of place.

"…um? Izumi,…"  
"Yeah….uh, yeah, sure…" he answered his Osakan friend, though he knew not what he was answering.  
Dog-boy didn't budge.

"So where _**is**_ Ikki, anyway?" asked Kazu, seriously now.  
"That's what I'm wondering!! Can I go, now?!" Agito snarled, slightly leaning his body in the direction from which they came, like there was an invisible force tugging at him.

Strangers, annoyed with his loud mouth, leered at him, now.

A nice distance away from the ground was a fellow storm rider. Her hair was a shimmering blonde, and she stood, arms crossed, wearing a short white dress with long sleeves and hood. Her ATS were vaguely similar to Simca's white and up to her mid thighs. Her eyes, aquamarine and nicely traced over the bottom lid with a black eyeliner, looked impatient.  
Her hair was cropped and tapered, and reached her buttocks.

The girl sighed before Agito drew attention to himself by fussing.  
"Excuse me, but…" the girl skated forth, towards Kazu, who seemed the most approachable. Bits of sparkles trailed behind her, falling from the silver and black embroidery on her outfit. Her skin was very fair, and she revealed an elegant neck when she tilted her head to the side, "…do you have the time? I'm waiting on someone, and I think she's late."

Buccha eyefully watched this storm rider, who he was sure he recalled. He thought of the reason why he would know her, but nothing came to mind. He shifted his weight to his left leg as he concentrated.

Kazu glanced to the girl, "6:09, I think," he replied casually.

His hands patted his pockets for the watch he didn't have, and he looked up at the girl with an expression of apologies.  
Then, his interest was lost and his shoulders slumped.  
"…I guess he's late…" he muttered to himself and then threw a glance at his group, who apparently, didn't know where the crow was, either.

Naodan's brows furrowed at the stranger; a competitor in the battle of cuteness?! This couldn't be!!

She straightened out her own neck, to match the delicacy that the girl's had.  
Her best efforts were put into making her jewel-like optics glow, and straightening her posture to match her unaware foe's.

Yet…somehow…the refined look wasn't quite working for her. She exhaled angrily, and gave up.  
"Whatever. My cute is completely different. Hmph."

While she pouted, Izumi blinked at the newcomer, "…"

"CAN I GET THE **FUCK** OUT OF HERE?!" Agito.  
"No." Kazu confirmed the answer Agito already saw coming.

The female's attention was brought to Agito for a moment and she smiled, a bit, trying to start a nice conversation with him, "Congratulations on getting your regalia back from Akira; I knew you wouldn't let him keep it for long," she didn't know how easily Agito's head inflated, so she fed his ego, trying her best not to make an enemy out of him.

Buccha remembered now, "You're the little sister of the Flash Queen, Hikari!" he alerted.  
The girl looked uneasy but answered, "Yeah. My name is Aika…"  
Buccha grinned and stole the conversation from Agito, because he would probably just manipulate her into giving him another compliment.

"So I'm thinkin' you're waiting on your sister?" he proposed, politely.  
"M'hm. She, Reminal and Cadensu are supposed to be meeting me here…"

A figure in the distance joined the conversation, "Reminal? He's the top storm rider, right?" it was Ikki.  
Aika looked over to the crow as he grew closer and nodded her head, "Yeah… that's him…" she didn't seem too happy talking about him, either.

Her cellphone bleeped in the pocket of her dress, and she pulled it out, reading a text message.  
"Oh. They changed the meeting place…"her optics looked over the group, "You guys are looking for storm riders to challenge, right? I'm sure Hikari and Reminal can help you, if you want to follow me to the café downtown…" her invitation was soft.

Ikki smiled evilly, "Well yeah. That'd be a great help," he snickered, eyes trying to peek up her dress. Onigiri had been doing this for a few minutes now.

The girl glided forwards, quiet, but it almost seemed like she didn't really want to take them anywhere.  
'_Ofcourse they'll use me to get to Hikari…'_ she thought, negatively.

"Oh, hey man." Kazu greeted Ikki, grinning.  
Then he glanced to the girl named "Aika".

Something about her made him want to sympathize with her, maybe it was imagination, but she seemed…depthless of the meeting to come.

Agito grumbled, angrily, too stubborn to allow himself to be flattered in the midst of his fit.


	9. Compatible

**6:12 p.m.**

Sakanako outstretched her arms and yawned exaggerantly, almost knocking Yayoi in the nose. Then, her hands fell to her lap and she groaned, wallowing in boredom.  
"Why couldn't you guys just sneak out, too? This is gay; some party." she complained dully, as she watched happy little couples twirl, slow dancing to get recognition from their fellow classmates.

Emily sighed. Her mood hadn't lightened, "We always cover for them. It's become a habit…" she answered the fish, who was now looking at Ringo.

"And you. You're never going to catch Ikki's interest if you keep avoiding opportunities to talk with him…" she warned Noyamano, statically. She yawned again, before resting her head on her knees which were coated by blue jean.

Emily nodded her head, "Yeah. I tell her that all the time, but she never really gets it," her mood brightened to the slightest degree, "How did you get Spitfire to like you? And what about Agito?"

Sakanako's head tilted, now her chin on her knees. She watched the dance lights as if in a trance, and then answered, "I researched Spitfire, and tried to be the type of girl he would like. And Agito…I'm not really sure. I guess he thought I was flirting with him, and I didn't even really know it. That sounds bad, but I think fate played a card in what happened that day…"  
Emily watched the lights touch Sakanako's body as she spoke. She smiled a little bit, "I hope something like that happens to me…" she commented, and then she looked to Ringo and Yayoi,

"What about you two?"

Yayoi was the first one to immediately answer: "I don't really like anybody. Fate? Boyfriends? I'll go and do without, for now. Sounds like too much of a burden to me." She decided not to mention that she'd much rather watch other people lose and regain boyfriends instead of throwing herself into useless drama.

Ringo, on the other hand, took her time answering, "…Mm. By the looks of it…" she paused , her mouth hung open on her last word, "…Nevermind."  
She knew that fate wasn't going to throw her a leg and just _**let**_ Ikki like her. She'd have to work.  
But thinking of Ikki was bringing her off of her daydream cloud that the dance let her on, so she dropped it.  
Emily's eyes narrowed and she leered at Ringo after her last attempt to talk, "You always do that! Ringo, you're so indecisive! Why won't you ever finish your sentences? It'd help a lot you know."

"Must be a Libra." Sakanako mumbled, in reference to astrology. That was like her, spouting out complete nonsense or something at random.

Emily smiled at the new topic, and looked down to Sakanako, who was still hunched over.  
"Yeah, probably. I'm a Virgo…Yayoi's Taurus, and Ringo's Libra! Kazu's Aquarius and Ikki's a Sagittarius!" she was excited that someone else was entertained by the horoscopes.

Sakanako sat up and smiled lightly, "I'm Aries. Agito's an Aquarius and Akito's Pisces. Izumi's Taurus…Spitfire is a Cancer, and I'm pretty sure Nao's a Leo."

The two were turning into desperate horoscope nerds, "So that means you and Agito are compatible!" Emily exclaimed, with a quick laugh.  
"M'hm. Ringo's compatible with Spitfire," Sakanako observed, randomly.

"So…Sagittarius isn't compatible with Libra, then?"  
Ringo regretting asking as soon as the words left her mouth.

"They aren't, are they…?"

"Oh, hey! Well, how about you and Kazu, Emily?" she splurted, smiling; a change of subject to avoid an answer to her question. Her hands tied together behind her back as she waited for a reply.

Yayoi laughed once, "This is going to become a sick obsession. Watch out, or you might up like Fish-girl and own a whole book on it, and check it **every** day, Ringo," she grinned at the other girls.  
Her voice was so tuned with sarcasm that it was almost impossible to say she wasn't joking. Then again, her gaze drilled toward Sakanako as she said "Fish-girl"; she smiled, the expression being an indication that it was, ofcourse, a joke.

Sakanako was slowly becoming more casual towards the girls, "I didn't say that. Actually, it's not that Sagittarius and Libra aren't compatible…they're highly compatible, but Libra wants a steady, long-term relationship while Sagittarius wants independence. Their love outlooks are different; if they can get over that, then they're well suited for one another. Libra's an Air Sign while Sagittarius is a Fire Sign. Air makes fire spread…make sense?" she smiled in a friendly manner, and then nodded her head, briefly.

Emily was amazed at Sakanako's accuracy, and it enlightened her mood.  
Her brown eyes wandered to Ringo and she too nodded, "If you and Ikki can sort things out, then things could go great. Me and Kazu are compatible by sign, but he isn't a very powerful Aquarius like Agito is. So he's hard to read."

There was a string of pause, and then Sakanako remembered Yayoi, "Since you're a Taurus, you're best suited for Akito, Spitfire or Izumi. But for people like Kazu, Agito and Naodan, well, you aren't so much. You're too stubborn and practical. You're simple minded."

Sakanako didn't tell her that Taurus didn't get along with Aries.

"Yeah; I don't really care…" Yayoi yawned, then looked dully about the room, at all the preppy girls who went to the trouble of packing extravagant dresses.  
Her expression was mocking and dark as she gazed upon them. She scoffed, quietly.

Ringo laughed once. The sound was light and cheery, "Well…yeah! I guess that's _**something **_to look forward to…" she paused, then smiled at her star-loving peers, somewhat anxious to hear more.


	10. Cafe

**Sorry for the wait time! I was lazy. ^^;; I'll get it up and running quickly again, soon.**

* * *

Reminal pulled shades from the bridge of his nose as he looked upon the surprise visitors with a slight smirk, "So this is team Kogarasumaru, hm? Ah, looks like two of the masses tagged along as well. Friends of the supposed Sky King, I'm thinking? It also looks like the media wasn't joking when they said Agito had joined an average team of Storm Riders. What are you guys, C-class?" he began to laugh at himself which made Ikki clench his fists. His crow-like eyes glared venomously into the crimson irises of his mocker, but he somehow found a way not to say anything. If he acted up… if he did something wrong; it could mean the team.

Cadensu was seated across the table from Reminal and beside Hikari, one of the kings who had shown up to evaluate the Masses when they first got their regalia. The cello's eyes fell to Izumi in acknowledgement, and she smiled politely, but didn't say anything. The flash queen's eyes looked to first her sister and then to Agito,

"It's been a while, Agito. I heard you're in a relationship with the Tidal Goddess," she looked to Naodan, who she figured was Sakanako, "Congratulations. Might want to watch yourself, though: he's rowdy," Hikari winked at the female and Aika took a seat.

Onigiri wasn't too busy with the serious mood, and was making their team look even more stupid than before. He was looking at the waitresses behind the counter.

"We've been sort of lazy lately," Ikki explained, simply, glaring.

Reminal was sipping from his mocha latte, uninterested, "What is Kogarasumaru doing here anyways?" he questioned them. He was watching Izumi. Not enthusiastically, but the Rocket God was the only person here that really held his interest.

"We're looking for Storm Riders to challenge. We need to rank up." Ikki replied.

"In a place like this?" Reminal scoffed. He didn't seem to like Ikki very much.

Izumi's eyes were reluctantly stitched to Cadensu. On occasion, he would force a glance at the table, but when his focus slipped, he was peering at her, again.  
His hands were shoved into his lap as he gazed upon the godly storm riders, but Cadensu in particular.  
"Hey…" he greeted the table. He hadn't noticed Reminal, but he caught the conversation.

"We beat Behemoth!" Kazu snarled, looking at Reminal in dissatisfaction. He curled a small fist onto the table, "I—" He was interrupted.

"_**THAT WHORE**_?! Ha! She isn't Sakanako! Hell no. Ha!" Agito grinned, and laughed at the suggestion.  
Hikari laughed a little bit before correcting herself, "Oh yeah, that's right. Your girlfriend must be the brunette. I keep forgetting that this one's the Ice Keeper…" she shrugged it off. Aika hadn't said a word.

Reminal arched a brow at Kazu's little outburst, "This is Kamakura. A place for tourists. You're not going to find any good storm riders here…" he leaned back in his seat with a roll of his eyes.

Naodan was gazing onto Reminal in awe, her eyes glittering with admiration at the man's form, words, and small habits he had at the table.

"We weren't asking for your opinion—we wanted team names! I don't give a shit where they're from, just as long as they're good!" Agito snapped for Kazu, "I came here against my own fucking will, and it wasn't to get the team shit-talked." The shark's gaze drilled towards Reminal.

Kazu was offended ; As Agito spoke, he folded his arms over his chest, and then placed the folded arms afront him, on the table. His jaw lowered to a comfortable position against his sleeve, "Hmph…" Mikura sighed.

"So, if you would shove your opinions back up your ass, I'd appreciate a fucking team name!" Wanijima's voice rang with a bitter fury, initially ignited by the tease he'd received before he was dragged into coming here.

Reminal leered at the Fang King, "Watch yourself, kid, or someone will end up kicking that ass and beating down that inflated head of yours."

Hikari watched Kazu react the way he did, but did not contribute to the conversation.

Reminal spoke up, "Lowkiss 304. There's your team name." he looked over to Izumi, "Have you by any chance gotten a tuner yet? The Masses will need one."

Izumi opened his mouth to speak and his voice emerged where his lips parted,

"No; no, we don't have a…a t-tuner, er…" the voice was not his own. It was Naodan's.  
She had cut his dialogue, and her voice was jittery and anxious.

Naodan exerted a breath, like she'd just run a marathon. Likewise, she'd hurried into her opportunity to speak with the leader, "I, uh, don't know of any tuner. Nope." She smiled, sweetly, and patted the table once with the tips of her fingers.

Izumi blinked cluelessly at his friend who'd stolen his spotlight.

Not like he particularly cared, for he reluctantly glanced back to Cadensu, '_…You look…really pretty,_' the thought was directed at the woman, though she couldn't hear, and he was surely glad she couldn't.

Agito was infuriated to an angered silence; his fist curled against the smooth table top in the form of a fist, '_…Lowkiss 304, huh…. Fuck them…_' he growled, as he thought.

Reminal ignored Agito's snarling and turned his attention to Naodan who was begging for it. He blinked a couple of times and then folded his arms. He leaned back in his seat and watched one of the ceiling fans spin silently, "You guys need a tuner. May I interest you in a friend of mine?" he proposed, politely. Aika moved restlessly in her seat, signaling some sort of telepathical message to Reminal that triggered a smile.

Cadensu began to speak, "…You mean…Akane Yuhara, right?" she asked her leader.  
His head nodded, "I couldn't pick anyone better…"

Ikki was fed up with how the subject kept stubbornly changing to the 3 Masses.

"What the hell's a tuner?!" he barked at Reminal, who turned his gaze boredly upon the C-ranked team, "…" instead of answering, he locked eyes with Agito, "…I suppose Akito's still your tuner, then?"

"What the hell's a tuner?!" Ikki repeated, roaring.

Reminal's wine red irises leered at the crow in complete annoyance.

"Yeah," Agito answered Reminal, ignoring the crow, "He's the only one that can do it without me taking off my clothes to pretend pretend-fuck--," he muttered, finding an excuse to complain.  
There was an impatient sigh from the boy and he turned his glare to Ikki, "Hey, dumbass, a tuner is someone who tune's regalia. You don't have one, so shut the hell up!"

Naodan blinked cluelessly, "Akane Yuhara…?" she found herself repeating.  
"Kisuko Yuhara." Izumi smiled, as he recognized the name.

Reminal noticed Izumi's comment and took his attention to it, "Yeah, I've asked him about it, but he says they aren't related. I suppose it's just one of those coincidences." He had lost interest in Agito.  
"Well anyway, I'll have him contact you when we get things with the Toul Tool To straightened out," he finished.

Ikki leered at Reminal.

He wanted that man's rank.


	11. He Wants Out

"Everyone meet up in the lobby after you pack all your things for the beach, m'kay? Hurry along now, we don't want to be late!" Miss Ayumi squealed. Then, the woman took off into her own hallway of administrators, excitedly. The juniors mumbled before starting to leave for their rooms to change.

Sakanako poked Agito, entertained, "Doink!" she laughed at herself and then grinned in anticipation, "Heeey, Baby! We're going to the beach!!" there was a string of silence before she frowned, "What's wrong, Sharky? Don't you wanna swim?" her visible green eye glistened, due to an ample amount of light that hit it.

Akito, too, was getting excited. He couldn't wait.  
'_Agito, can you let me out, now? Please?!' _he asked him, politely.

Ikki and the others were already on the elevator.

"My alter ego wants out," Agito mumbled, almost apologetically to Sakanako; he was reluctant to admit it to her, and it was though he were asking permission.  
He didn't _**want **_to give up the body, but his brother-figure had been abused lately.

'_If she wants _you_ to. If not, then tough-fuckin'-luck.' _he thought, dully.

Sakanako's lips were touched with a frown, "…nnnn…." she moaned, irritantly. Her green eye looked away, "…sure, why not," she mumbled in disappointment, then her figure turned and began to walk towards the elevator, bitterness stinging the air. Her feet hissed as they walked, and her thumbs hooked her belt loops.

Akito's left hand gripped the eyepatch, hesitating. He waited for Agito's final answer, as he saw Sakanako's long legs padding away. He wondered if she hated him still, for kissing her that one time; he was planning to say sorry, but he didn't know if he could get her attention again.

'_...is it okay? She said it was okay… don't worry Agito, I'll cheer her up for you, so you should just relax. I don't think you'd like the beach that much anyways. You've never been swimming before…'_

'_Maybe I wanted to try.'_ Agito muttered, sourly. He sighed once. The sound was a snarl.

In Akito's mentality, Agito watched as Sakanako gaited towards the opposing side of the room.  
'_…You don't have to do a fuckin' thing. Don't cheer her up. Believe you me, it's all-fuckin'-right_.' Agito assured the anxious soul in dominance of the body.

'_Relax? ...? I'm not __**not**__ relaxed. Just don't pull any of your flirty shit_,' he warned, in finality.


End file.
